International Whores Day

Lyon sex worker grievances came to a head on 2 June 1975, when around 100–150 sex workers took refuge in the Church of Saint-Nizier in Lyon and immediately hung from the steeple a large banner on which was written ‘Our children do not want their mothers to go to jail’. Aided by young curate, activist and aspiring journalist Christian Delorme (audio recording of an interview, 11 June, 2012), the sex workers launched a media campaign explaining that they had occupied the church in desperation following months of failed negotiations in an attempt to prevent the threatened imprisonment of around 10 women facing multiple charges for ‘incitement of debauchery.

From The 1975 French sex workers’ revolt: A narrative of influence